Pieta: Bringing human suffering to the church

PEORIA — The most famous example of the Pietà is by Michelangelo — it has been copied countless times and is a fixture in Catholic churches throughout the world.

"When you say Pietà, people always think of Michelangelo, the marble sculpture in the Vatican in Rome," said Rolf Achilles, curator of the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows and an adjunct faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. "But other artists have taken up the theme."

In fact, the theme is much older than Michelangelo. The Pietà is any type of artwork that depicts the lifeless body of Christ in the arms of his mother, Mary. It is most often depicted in sculpture, but also has been the subject of paintings, etchings and engravings.

Achilles will present "The Art of the Pietà " during the Fine Arts Society of Peoria's lecture on Dec. 12.

"It has to do with Mary becoming more and more important in the church," said Achilles. "Around the year 1,000, the women started becoming a very important focal point." Artists began using images of Mary with Christ. Some of the earliest examples came from Germany. It is a Catholic tradition — Lutheran churches tended to be more male-oriented and address religion in a more cerebral way, Achilles said.

"From the middle of the 16th century, the Catholic tradition incorporates much suffering — what better example of suffering than Christ on the cross, to show his wounds, his bleeding, his suffering. When he comes off the cross, Mary cradles him, her dead son," he said.

The Pietà puts Mary and Jesus in a very human realm — in many examples the wounds are graphically expressed — and the subject matter is very emotional. Evoking emotion and showing the human side of Christ was a way to keep the congregation interested, a technique that is still effective today, Achilles said.

"That was a way to pull people in," he said. "It still does today. The booming Catholic churches, the ones that are growing, they're still emotional. The ones that are withering are addressing religion in a more intellectual manner."

Achilles will show examples of Pietàs created by artists through the ages as he discusses the traditions and how they came to be.

The talk will begin at 10 a.m. Dec. 12 at Anshai Emeth, 5614 N. University St., Peoria. Coffee and light refreshments will be served at 9:30 a.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, and are available at the door. For more information visit www.fineartssociety.net.